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-Ever- · 06-02-2005, 10:52 AM

I'll start with what's happening, followed by my personal diagnosis and list of when/how these problems are occuring.

I've got two problems:

1) There's something screwy with my BIOS. If I restart my computer, I have a very slim chance to make it past the BIOS and into Windows.

2) An online video game I play has begun randomly locking my computer up, forcing me to restart and get stuck within the previous BIOS problem.

So here's what's going on in real time and some important information to consider. I reformatted my HD and reinstalled XP yesterday. Everything went smoothly as I do this about twice a year and spent a day backing everything up on an external drive. I got into windows right after I reformatted, I changed all my settings to how I like them (desktop, etc), then began loading backed-up files such as pictures and music. After this, I restarted a few times to make sure everything was happy and running smoothly. There was one time that I got stuck at the BIOS logo screen but it moved after about 20 seconds. The only things I changed system-wise would be new drivers for my video card (Radeon) and I installed audio drivers from my mobo's CD. After this, I began going about my usual business, checking to make sure the internet worked and installed this video game (world of warcraft). I should add that I was immediately getting adware when I first restarted which I found as very odd. I posted on this forum about it and found that by disabling Messanger in Run-->Services.msc, they went away. I don't think this has a negative effect though on what I've been describing.

All was smooth and good. I played my game for about an hour and a half that night. I closed it, had dinner, came back, and played it for about 15 minutes when it locked up. I was forced to restart and I got stuck in BIOS. I shut down for 5 minutes, came back, got back into windows and restarted the game figuring that systems usually hiccup the first few days. The same thing happened but I was getting stuck at this screen longer and longer. I'm getting the "No BIOS Installed!" message which usually has to do with disabling Raid stuff (which I did). Also, things are kind of tweaky with it recognizing my HD and such. I did things such as reset the entire MOBO by removing the battery, I set the BIOS to default settings via the option, and changed things to how they should be. Still no luck.

I'm confused here because I'm at a fundamental root of the computer system and am still being beat. You can't go much further than reformatting, reloading a system software, restarting a MOBO, and setting BIOS to default and still have problems to face.

I figure the game crashing is a driver problem since I downloaded newer ones than I had before the reinstall, but it, paired with the BIOS problem, paired with the fact that Windows runs flawlessly when I make it through POST is really confusing me.

Any ideas? I've unleashed all of my tricks. Do you have any I should look into?
I appreciate any help. I'd hate to have to take this guy into a local shop if I could steer clear.

Thanks for any info guys.
-T

PS: I just remembered that one thing I'm yet to do is install the newest service pack. Just wanted to throw that in here..

PS: The first time I booted this morning everything went smoothly, like it did yesterday when I'd let the computer rest. I figured it was because I let it rest overnight, but while installing SP2 it reset itself and everything went smooth again. However on the third reboot when SP2 had finished, it locked again. I was determined to get it back up so I restarted the computer about five times. It kept on locking just after POST (the screen would freeze after it listed the ram and primary's/slave's) and it finally made it through on the fifth restart. I'm definitely going to go ahead and download the newest BIOS in the mean time.

06-02-2005, 10:52 AM	#1 (permalink)
-Ever- Junkie Location: San Francisco	Pretty big problems here. (BIOS, etc) I'll start with what's happening, followed by my personal diagnosis and list of when/how these problems are occuring. I've got two problems: 1) There's something screwy with my BIOS. If I restart my computer, I have a very slim chance to make it past the BIOS and into Windows. 2) An online video game I play has begun randomly locking my computer up, forcing me to restart and get stuck within the previous BIOS problem. So here's what's going on in real time and some important information to consider. I reformatted my HD and reinstalled XP yesterday. Everything went smoothly as I do this about twice a year and spent a day backing everything up on an external drive. I got into windows right after I reformatted, I changed all my settings to how I like them (desktop, etc), then began loading backed-up files such as pictures and music. After this, I restarted a few times to make sure everything was happy and running smoothly. There was one time that I got stuck at the BIOS logo screen but it moved after about 20 seconds. The only things I changed system-wise would be new drivers for my video card (Radeon) and I installed audio drivers from my mobo's CD. After this, I began going about my usual business, checking to make sure the internet worked and installed this video game (world of warcraft). I should add that I was immediately getting adware when I first restarted which I found as very odd. I posted on this forum about it and found that by disabling Messanger in Run-->Services.msc, they went away. I don't think this has a negative effect though on what I've been describing. All was smooth and good. I played my game for about an hour and a half that night. I closed it, had dinner, came back, and played it for about 15 minutes when it locked up. I was forced to restart and I got stuck in BIOS. I shut down for 5 minutes, came back, got back into windows and restarted the game figuring that systems usually hiccup the first few days. The same thing happened but I was getting stuck at this screen longer and longer. I'm getting the "No BIOS Installed!" message which usually has to do with disabling Raid stuff (which I did). Also, things are kind of tweaky with it recognizing my HD and such. I did things such as reset the entire MOBO by removing the battery, I set the BIOS to default settings via the option, and changed things to how they should be. Still no luck. I'm confused here because I'm at a fundamental root of the computer system and am still being beat. You can't go much further than reformatting, reloading a system software, restarting a MOBO, and setting BIOS to default and still have problems to face. I figure the game crashing is a driver problem since I downloaded newer ones than I had before the reinstall, but it, paired with the BIOS problem, paired with the fact that Windows runs flawlessly when I make it through POST is really confusing me. Any ideas? I've unleashed all of my tricks. Do you have any I should look into? I appreciate any help. I'd hate to have to take this guy into a local shop if I could steer clear. Thanks for any info guys. -T PS: I just remembered that one thing I'm yet to do is install the newest service pack. Just wanted to throw that in here.. PS: The first time I booted this morning everything went smoothly, like it did yesterday when I'd let the computer rest. I figured it was because I let it rest overnight, but while installing SP2 it reset itself and everything went smooth again. However on the third reboot when SP2 had finished, it locked again. I was determined to get it back up so I restarted the computer about five times. It kept on locking just after POST (the screen would freeze after it listed the ram and primary's/slave's) and it finally made it through on the fifth restart. I'm definitely going to go ahead and download the newest BIOS in the mean time. __________________ Embracing the goddess energy within yourselves will bring all of you to a new understanding and valuing of life. A vision that inspires you to live and love on planet Earth. Like a priceless jewel buried in dark layers of soil and stone, Earth radiates her brilliant beauty into the caverns of space and time. Perhaps you are aware of those who watch over your home And experience of this place to visit and play with reality. You are becoming aware of yourself as a gamemaster... --Acknowledge your weaknesses-- Last edited by -Ever-; 06-02-2005 at 11:38 AM..